1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to water wells, the type used for residential water supply, and particularly to a means and method for remediating the well by extracting and disposing of fouled water from the bottom of the well, and then rinsing the bottom of the well to remove all vestige of contamination.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A prliminary patentability and novelty search has revealed the existence of the following United States patents, and the United States and foreign patents and publications cited therein:
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,966,654 5,025,822 5,069,796 PA1 U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,302,286 5,688,076 5,741,427
A careful review of these patents indicates that the means and method disclosed herein for remediation of fouled water wells, such fouling commonly found at the bottom of residential water wells, has not been disclosed or even suggested by the prior art.
Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,654 relates to a means and method for the extraction of volatile hydrocarbon contaminants from both water and moisture laden air, utilizing a stripping system in which steam is mixed with the contaminated water at below atmospheric pressure, thus providing clean water for re-use and contaminated steam and vaporized contaminants for disposition in a proper manner.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,025,822 involves a method and apparatus for delivering a disinfectant in liquid form into a well to disinfect the water in the well.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,796 relates to an apparatus that may be mounted on a skid-frame and transported to a well site. Water from the well is then processed in a spray tower, where it is countercurrently contacted with air to remove volatile contaminants. Neither the means nor the method by which the means operates, or the end result have any reasonable relevancy to the invention disclosed and claimed herein.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,302,286 relates to a method and apparatus for in situ ground water remediation in a well having two permeable sections in the ground water saturated zone. Ground water is re-circulated through the well and the saturated zone between the two permeable sections of the casing, and nutrients such as oxygen and methane, are added to the ground water as it flows into the well. Again, there is no reasonable relevancy between this method and apparatus and the invention disclosed and claimed herein.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,688,076 relates to ground water and soil remediation in association with wells, but uses a high vacuum system for extracting soil, vapor and ground water contaminated with hydrocarbons. Means are provided for protecting the vacuum system from non-gaseous phases and for transferring liquid phases to fractionation subsystems.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,741,427 describes a method for treating contaminants in soil and/or ground water by adding a source of an oxidizing agent and a reaction product complex or a ligand donor and a metal catalyst to the in situ environment and the reaction product complex employed therein. Nothing has been found in this patent that would even suggest the method and means disclosed and claimed herein for remediating residential type water wells, the water of which at the bottom of the well is fouled by various substances, including soil and bacteria of various forms.
Heretofore, the conditions leading to the fouling of water wells, particularly residential type water wells that are usually located in isolated locations away from metropolitan areas, has not been well understood. The general misconception has been the belief that fouled water is the result of the entire well being contaminated, or that the source of water seeping into the well is contaminated, thus contaminating the water even before it reaches the well. Investigation has led to the discovery that the fouling of most residential type water wells is the result of the accumulation of debris in a stagnant region below the well pump, which is usually of the submersible type. The water above the pump is pushed into the pump by the pressure of the water above the pump intake. The pressure of the water above the pump is proportional to the vertical height between the pump and the static level of the water table. This pressure is generally about 0.5 PSI per foot of water depth. For a pump located fifty feet below the water table, this pressure is about twenty-five pounds per square inch.
The water below the intake of the pump, which has zero pressure forcing it into the pump intake, makes up only a small fraction of the water pumped from the well, and is only slightly disturbed, if at all, by the pumping action. Generally, the depth of this stagnant region below the pump is about ten feet. The stagnant region is eventually filled with sediment and debris of various types, and in the case of bacterial infection, the detritus of bacterial activity. The water in this region becomes muddy and foul. Many wells are infected with bacteria, some of which are pathogenic and others merely putrescent. Those bacteria which metabolize iron or manganese cause the water to stain fixures and laundered clothing, make the water slimy to the touch and cause sulfur oxides to be reduced, forming hydrogen sulfide, which results in a noxious rotten egg odor. Most of the products of bacterial activity are found in the stagnant region at the bottom the well.
At the interface of the stagnant region (just below the pump intake port) and the active region (just above the pump intake) the water entering the pump picks up a small amount of the fouled water from the stagnant region. In severe cases, the fouled water is sufficient to contaminate the produced water to the extent that the water is unusable and therefore not potable. Heretofore, attempts to remediate a fouled well has included bailing the mud and sediment out of the well, blowing high pressure air and water into the well in an attempt to blow out the contaminated water, sanitizing the well with oxidizers such as chlorine and ozone, and providing a holding tank for settling out the sediment, etc. None of these treatments have been found acceptable, and many wells remain fouled and provide constant irritation to the occupants of a residence, and require constant effort on the part of the resident to ameliorate the stains that adhere to fixures, walls and laundered clothing.
Accordingly, one of the important objects of the present invention is to provide a method and means that removes contaminated water from a well and removes the source of contamination of the water produced from wells by cleaning the stagnant region of the well below the pump.
Another object of the invention is to provide a means and method for removing the detritus contained in the region of the well below the level of the pump.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a permanent apparatus installed in association with a well to provide a means and method for the automatic periodic cleaning, i.e., remediation, of the water and stagnant region below the pump.
The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will become apparent from the following description and the drawings. It is to be understood however that the invention is not limited to the embodiment illustrated and described since it may be embodied in various forms within the scope of the appended claims.